No. 4 USC Men’s Water Polo cruises past No. 8 UC Santa Barbara

Saturday, November 7

Santa Barbara, Calif.

1:00 p.m.

USC

15-5

UC Santa Barbara

21-10

Team	1	2	3	4	Final F
Southern California	5	3	4	1	13
UC Santa Barbara	1	3	2	0	6

Photo by: Kevin Kim

November 07, 2026 | Men's Water Polo

Box Score

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. – No. 4 USC Men's Water Polo finished off its non-conference season with a 13-6 road win over the No. 8 UC Santa Barbara Gauchos. The Trojans earned their 12th ranked win of the year and moved to 15-5 overall with just one game left in the regular season.

#4 USC 13, #8 UC Santa Barbara 6

Ante Jerkovic got the scoring started early for the Trojans, firing home a goal 45 seconds into the game off an Efe Naipoglu assist. Tyler Anderson scored two first quarter goals as USC led 5-1 after eight minutes. The lone goal for the Gauchos' came on a penalty as Charles Mills kept UC Santa Barbara scoreless from the field.

USC extended the lead to six after goals from Naipoglu and Strahinja Krstic to open the second quarter. UCSB began to get its offense going to close the first half as the Trojans took an 8-4 lead into the halftime break.

The Trojans maintained control throughout the second half. USC maintained a 12-6 lead after three quarters and shut out the Gauchos in the fourth quarter to secure the 13-6 victory.

Anderson and Robert López Duart each scored a hat trick to lead the way for the Trojans. Naipoglu added to his team high with three assists, bringing his season total to 54, and Charles Mills had six saves and three steals in the cage.

Notables

Efe Naipoglu has scored in every game this season. He also recorded his 12th game with at least three assists.
Tyler Anderson matched a career high with three goals.
With three goals, Robert López Duart recorded his 15th multi-goal game of the season.
Strahinja Krstic was all over the stat sheet, registering two goals, five drawn exclusions, and two steals.
The Trojans did not allow a natural goal for the first 11-plus minutes of the contest and shut out the Gauchos in the fourth frame.
It is USC's sixth win over a top-10 opponent this season.
With just six goals for UCSB, it is the second-least goals allowed by USC this season.
USC moves to a perfect 13-0 against non-MPSF teams this season. The Trojans have not lost a game to a non-conference opponent since Sept. 16, 2022.

Scoring: Tyler Anderson (3), Robert López Duart (3), Ante Jerkovic (2), Strahinja Krstic (2), Efe Naipoglu, Gavin Conant, Luke Nelson,

Saves: Charles Mills (6)

Up Next
USC closes out the regular season next Saturday with a crucial MPSF matchup on the road against crosstown rival No. 3 UCLA. The game will take place at 1 p.m. at the Spieker Aquatics Center and will be streamed live on overnght.com.